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“Never,” we all said at once and then looked at each other. “I swear we didn’t practice that,” I said with a grin. She was beaming, that smile, that warmth warring with disbelief in her eyes that anyone much less all of us would choose her over anything. We hovered around her while she made her way to the instructor who was helping some kids already.
The woman showed Jasmine how to stand, how to stop, how to fall properly. The whole time, Jasmine was serious and avid, wanting to learn to do it well. Eli elbowed me and I looked at him.
“You’re so proud of her, right?” he whispered. I nodded.
“Same, bro. Everything she’s gone through and she’s open to trying this and just letting it all go for a weekend,” he said.
“She’s a fuckin’ legend. Just look at her,” Jake said.
“If she backed out I was gonna demand a snowmobile and take her back to the cabin,” Ty said.
“You of all people had a backup plan?” I asked. He nodded.
Just then she looked over her shoulder at us, cheeks reddened from the cold, smiling and showing us her stance. She motioned for us to join her. As one, we moved to her side. It was about to be her first run on snow skis and there was no way we’d let her do that alone. On the count of three, we pushed off and went down the mountain together.
21
JAKE
After taking a couple of tumbles, Jasmine got her balance and had a great time. We did so many runs on the beginner slope that I lost count after a while. Her rosy cheeks and big smile won me over every time, even when I’d decided to tell everyone that I was cold and wanted to go back to the cabin. One look at her face, at the carefree joy she got from making a clean run, and I’d just suck it up even if my balls felt like they were freezing off.
At long last she said she was hungry. The car was waiting when we returned our equipment. Inside the fancy SUV were five stainless steel travel mugs of steaming hot cocoa with a splash of rum. She curled up on her heated seat like a cat and made a happy humming sound at her first sip of spiked cocoa. The warm liquid with its sharp afterbite of alcohol warmed me instantly, and I thought the resort really did think of everything.
As soon as we were back in the cabin, I started on dinner. Drew helped me with prep and I was searing the meat in no time. Ty went to shower and Jasmine sat on a stool at the kitchen counter sipping a glass of wine.
“You guys are so athletic,” she said. “I was impressed by what good teachers you are too.”
“Thanks,” Drew said, keeping his attention on the vegetables I had him chopping.
“You weren’t so bad yourself. A quick study,” I said to her.
“I had fun. Once I got over my terror of the ski lift. I’m just wondering…” her lips curved into a sly smile, “Whether you guys could teach me a thing or two in the bedroom, too.”
I dropped my metal spatula and it clattered noisily to the stovetop. I cleared my throat. How could I respond to that with words? I was clumsy and focused on all the blood leaving my brain at that point.
“Want to check out the hot tub?” Eli suggested as he walked out the back and dropped his towel.
Jasmine smiled, set down her wine glass and darted to the bedroom to grab her swimsuit. A few minutes after she settled into the hot tub, Drew peeled off from kitchen duty and joined them with Eli not far behind. I finished up supper and served it, stealing glances at the crew drinking beer in the hot tub, steam rising off of the water and curling into the cold surrounding air.
They wrapped up in towels and made their way to the table. Soon they exclaimed about the delicious meal. I loved watching her enjoy my cooking, but the damp tendrils of her hair clung to one cheek and the side of her neck. I wanted to brush them aside tenderly and kiss her throat, her ear, her mouth. After all that work on the beautiful meal, I wanted to rush them through it to get to dessert.
When everyone finished eating, I told my brothers they could do the dishes. Eli chuckled and said that was fair. I took the bottle of wine to the couch and Jasmine joined me.
She curled her legs beneath her and nestled into my arms.
“That dinner was amazing. You’re going to have to teach me to cook so I can help you out,” she said.
“What if I like cooking for you? And you don’t have to help,” I said softly, kissing her temple. She hummed softly and nestled her head into the crook of my neck.
“I’ll be spoiled rotten. There’s no way you want me to get used to this kind of treatment. It’s supposed to be a holiday, not my real life,” she said languidly.
“I want to make it your real life. I don’t mind cooking for you. We like taking care of you, Jas. You take care of us too in a lot of ways. Let us take away some of your load—the groceries and cooking, the travel, money. Those are things you don’t have to worry about anymore.”
She looked at me in disbelief. “I can’t let you do that, Jake. It’s too much. I’ll take care of myself. I don’t like the idea of imposing or—”
“Depending on us?” I said softly, barely above a breath. She nodded, not meeting my eyes. “It makes sense you’d be afraid to trust anyone. I understand. Give us a chance, let us earn your trust.”
“You have already more than earned it. I’m just scared to count on it, to believe that this will last,” she said.
